CARACAS.- The midfielder Tomas Rinconone of the greatest exponents of Venezuelan soccer, announced this Wednesday his retirement as a player after two decades of career.
Rincón, 38, had been without a team since July when the Saints of Brazil He terminated his contract after three seasons with discreet performance.
“The time has come to close a stage that for so many years was my life and it is not easy to put into words what it means for me to say goodbye to football as a player,” said the former captain of the Red wine in a video published on their social networks.
A seasoned front-line midfielder, the “General” thus puts an end to a career in which he accumulated 143 appearances with the Venezuelan national team, with which he debuted in 2008, and 576 games at club level.
He debuted in the Venezuelan first division at the age of 19 with the Zamora FC in 2007. He then briefly went to Deportivo Táchira, from where he jumped to Europe with an assignment to Hamburg German.
After five seasons in the Bundesliga He spent the longest stretch of his career (2014-2023) in Italy, where he defended the colors of the Genoahe Turinthe Sampdoria and the Juventus.
With the Vecchia Signora he won two of his three crowns as a professional, the league and the Italian Cup in 2017. With Santos, the old team of Pelewon the Brazilian second division title in 2024.
“Since I was a child I dreamed of going far, but I never imagined everything that this path would allow me to experience,” he recalls in his farewell video.
He was part of the vinotinto squad that was just two points away from the playoffs in the South American qualifiers for the South Africa World Cup 2010 and North America 2026the closest Venezuela has been to a World Cup berth.
It was also key in the fourth place achieved in the Copa America 2011the best participation in the country in the competition.
He assumed the captaincy of Vinotinto in 2015 after the retirement of another emblem of the Venezuelan midfield, Juan Arango. He maintained that role for a decade.
Future as DT?
Without going into details, it appeared that he will remain in the world of football.
“Today my time as a player ends, but not my relationship with football. It would be impossible, football was a part of who I am and always will be,” he said.
